(TAP)-The flow of foreign investments dropped by 7.6% at the end of 2019 compared to 2018, to 2,648.2 MD (million dinars). It is shared out between 2,479.1 MD in foreign direct investments (FDI) (-9.6%) and 169.1 MD in portfolio (+36.2%), according to the Foreign Investment Balance Sheet published by the Foreign Investment Promotion Agency (FIPA).

The sector-based distribution of foreign investments shows a rise of the Industry sector (+10.6%) with investments worth 1,249.1 MD, continuing its upward trend compared to 2017 (+28.1%) and 2016 (+55.9%).

On the contrary, foreign investments in the energy sector fell by 0.1% compared to 2018, reaching 909.4 MD. However, they are on the rise by 12.3% compared to 2017 and by 14.2% compared to 2016.

A strong decrease is recorded by foreign investments in the services sector which dropped by 51.8% to 302 MD compared to 2018. These investments edged down 6% compared to 2017 against an increase of 7.2% compared to 2016.

The foreign investments in agriculture did not exceed 18.6 MD for the whole 2019, dropping by 75.7% compared with 2018, by 27.5% in 2017 and by 15.4% in 2016.